by Joe Woods
“Okay, let’s move on. This is getting a bit too emotional for me. I want us to go to San Antonio in the next few days. We need a vacation and some more ‘afternoon delight’—in the morning, afternoon and night. I want to get the suite at the hotel where you stayed during your towing conferences. I want to ride the riverboats and eat at the restaurants along the way.”
“That’s a lot of moving around. How long is this vacation?’
“Oh, I don’t know. How about two weeks?”
“Two weeks? Are you out of your mind? I can’t possibly leave this office that long. I thought you came home to see your daddy, not run off as soon as you hit town.”
“I will visit Daddy daily once we get back and settled. Right now, I want to be with you. When have you had a two-week vacation?”
“Never.”
“It’s way past time. Caitlyn can take care of business. She’s been here longer than you have.”
“That’s right, but I wouldn’t feel right just jumping up and leaving all of this in her lap.”
“Don’t worry. If she needs help, she can call you on your cell phone.”
“I know she could and everything is pretty routine at this time of the year anyway. I have a better idea. I like the idea of a two-week vacation in San Antonio. But let’s not be selfish. You move in with me, for now, and take the next week or so to tend to your daddy. That will give me time to wrap up a few loose ends. You could pick him up every afternoon, bring him by the office and even take him back to your old house for a night or two. I’m sure he would love sleeping in his old bed and having Mamie cook for him. “
“Connor, that’s a really good idea. I could arrange it so he wouldn’t miss his TV show.”
“Willow, let me tell you that you are very important to him now.”
“Then it is settled. Give me the key to your house on the hill. I’ll get my bags out of your old truck and go up there.”
“What time will you come home?”
“No later than eight o’clock.”
Snapping her fingers, Willow said, “My plane is sitting on the tarmac at VTR. I’ll call and send them back to their home base. Later, I can call them back to fly us to San Antonio.”
“Do I need to stop by the grocery store? Do you have milk, eggs, bread bacon etc. at your house?”
“Willow, it would be a good idea to go grocery shopping. Some of my staples may be too old for you. I think I’ll stop by the butcher’s shop and pick up a couple of steaks. I can grill them tonight.”
“What about a bottle of wine?”
“Willow, my wine cabinet is well stocked. No need to buy more at this time. Why don’t you bake some potatoes? ”
“I’ll do that and steam some vegetables also.”
“Great, I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
Hearing that exchange from her office, Caitlyn, a rather full-figured lady in her early sixties, walked to the open doorway. “Oh Connor, you need to take a break. You’ve been tied to your desk too much. Take the offer from this beautiful lady and run with it.”
Connor didn’t realize Caitlyn had overheard the conversation and was slightly embarrassed. “I can if it is okay with you and it won’t burden you too much.”
“I can handle it. You two kids just go and enjoy yourselves.”
“I’ll come by tomorrow after I’ve had time to plan everything and get you to make our overnight accommodations,” said Willow.
“That’s fine. I’ll be happy to do whatever.”
“Okay, see you then. Connor, I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
Leaving McKenzie Towing, Willow was pleased with the change of plans. I should let Connor make more of our decisions, but sometimes he is just too slow. Parking Rupert’s car near the entrance to the grocery store and with a short shopping list in hand, Willow made her way to the fresh vegetable and produce section. After placing a 5-pound bag of red potatoes in her shopping cart, she wheeled around and ran into the pervert from the gas station.
“Are you following me?”
“No ma’am. I just happened to walk up on you by accident.”
Raising her voice slightly, Willow said, “You better get out of my sight. If I call Connor and tell him you’re stalking me, no telling what he’ll do to you.”
“Yes ma’am. Please don’t call Mr. Connor. He scares me. I’m gone.” Hurriedly, the man walked away, disappearing toward the back of the store.
After going through the self-check-out aisle, Willow briskly walked through the parking lot ever mindful of the cars and people around her. Driving out of the parking lot and onto Pemberton Boulevard, she searched the street for any sign of the old, hair-lipped pervert.
Turning left at the signal light, a smile broke across her face as she drove through Marcus Bottom and through downtown Vicksburg. In a few minutes, she was cruising along Historic Highway 61 North headed to Connor’s house. At the intersection of Highway 61 and the new 61 bypass, she was stopped by a large 18-wheeler that had overturned, dumping a huge pile of recycled metal onto the highway.
Willow was stopped for more than an hour as the highway crews picked up all of the metal shards scattered across four lanes. Looking up the line of traffic and across the 61 bypass, she saw a familiar vehicle pass in front of her. It was Connor in his old green Ford pickup. She called his cell number saying, “Hey you just passed me. I’m hung up in traffic.”
“Are you in that traffic jam with the 18-wheeler?”
“Yes, I am.”
Laughing, Connor said, “Well, I guess dinner is going to be late tonight.”
“Not funny, Connor.”
“Willow, do you see the big Miller Petroleum business on the frontage road?”
“Yes.”
“Can you get to it?”
“I think so. I’ll have to do a U-turn and drive across the shoulder. I won’t get stuck, will I?”
“No, the shoulder is hard and once you get to the gravel road, you’ll be okay.”
Making the U-turn, Willow headed back toward Vicksburg. She drove about one hundred yards, and then turned onto the shoulder across a small ditch and upon the gravel road. With Connor still on his cell phone, she said, “Whew—I made it.”
“Willow follow the gravel road to the service station then get back on 61.”
“I’m rolling again. See you in about ten. Why don’t you start the grill? The potatoes and vegetables won’t take very long.”
Willow wheeled Rupert’s White Ford LTD up Connor’s winding driveway coming to a screeching stop in the three car drive through garage.
Connor, standing in the doorway, turned. “My. You’re giving your daddy’s car a work out. It hasn’t been driven like that in several years, if ever.”
“Dearest, I was up here earlier today and I’m excited about the prospects for the night, and don’t want to waste any time. Help me with the groceries.”
Willow busily worked in the kitchen while watching Connor ready the grill. Once everything was organized, she called out to Conner. “Come in and open the wine. I want to share a few calm moments.”
Connor looked into the wine cabinet. “Chardonnay or Merlot?”
“I think a 10-year-old Merlot would satisfy my thirst.”
“Merlot it is. You get a couple of glasses and join me in the gazebo. We can sit in the swing and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.”
Connor followed Willow outside. “This is going to be a very good night. It is great having you here again.”
Raising her glass toward Connor, Willow said: “A toast to my man and to a very good night. I’ve dreamed about this and look forward to relaxing and enjoying the peace and tranquility. I see you have cleared some of the trees that blocked the view of the flatlands below.”
“Yeah. I remember the last time you breezed through; you made the comment about the tall trees and how much they obstructed the landscape at the bottom of the bluffs. I’ll have to admit I like the view much better, too. When the leaves ar
e off in the winter, I can see my old home place on Long Lake. But I enjoy it more when the spring water rises on the Yazoo River flooding my old home and I realize I don’t have to contend with that problem anymore.”
Willow finished her second glass of wine and motioned for Connor to refill.
“Good wine, huh? I’m glad you like it.”
“It is not just good. It is excellent. I hope you have several bottles left.”
“No problem. Keeping a good supply of excellent beverages is something I learned from you many years ago. Don’t you remember how much you hounded me to keep an adequate supply of drinks in our cave?”
“It means a lot to me for us to sit and talk,” Willow said, laughing. “And speaking of our cave, when are you going to take me up there?”
“That’s something we don’t need to rush. We need to be very careful. We don’t want to call any attention to it.”
“Connor, at this point, I don’t want to call any attention to it, but I do want to correct those stupid things we did way back then.”
“There’ll be plenty of time, especially when we build or remodel a house for you.”
“So many things occupy my conscience and I want to clear some of that clutter out.”
“This weather is absolutely wonderful,” Willow said, pushing a bit harder, swinging higher. “This morning in New York the temperature was in the high twenties with rain and snow showers.”
“Willow it feels good now, but you haven’t forgotten about the high humidity that follows later in the year?”
“No. I remember very well how humid it gets here and how much we used to enjoy going to the cave on those hot, sultry days. The constant temperature in the cave made it an enjoyable place to spend an afternoon or evening.”
“What exactly do you want to do? And why didn’t you call me to let me know you were flying in?”
“I thought the idea of a surprise with the news that I was retiring from the ad business would be a fun thing to do.”
“I like the surprise, but I could just as easily not been here. Did you ever think about that?”
“Not really. You’ve always been here. I guess I’ll have to make some adjustments in my spontaneity. It’s a woman’s thing. I didn’t mean to cause a problem.”
“No big problem. I’ll have to go to the office first thing in the morning and make a few phone calls. I don’t think you know, but McKenzie Towing is playing a major role in the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf. We’ve got a tow boat and two barges assisting in containing the oil spill and removal of the polluted waters. We’ve got a big vacuum truck mounted on one of the barges that picks up the oil and stores it in the other barge. This has been a very lucrative venture for McKenzie, but the company responsible for paying us is nearly two months behind. I’ve got to jack them up tomorrow.”
“That’s sounds like a good operation. You go to the office. I’ll go see Daddy and share breakfast with him.”
“Good idea. Maybe after breakfast, you can bring him by the office. But, remember, he has his TV shows he watches, so be mindful of that.”
“Okay, I will. I’m going to talk to him about spending a night or two at our old home. I guess I’ll need to talk to the facility administrator about that.”
“Yes. You will have to get a written authorization from the administrator before you can take him out for any length of time.”
Letting the last drop of wine drip from the glass, Willow said, “I’ve finished my third glass. How about getting us another bottle?”
Connor left and returned with another bottle and filled Willow’s glass. “I’m getting hungry. The coals look just right for the steaks. Do you still like yours medium with a slight pink center?”
“Yes. I’m impressed you still remember,” Willow said, turning. “How long before they’re ready?’
“Twenty minutes. It is getting a bit dark. Will you flip that light switch just inside the door?”
“Yes, I will. I’m bringing all of our utensils when I return.”
Willow felt a strong buzz from the wine. She wasn’t completely steady on her feet, so she sat on one of the bar stools to regain her balance. Looking around the kitchen and den combination, she saw, again the large oil painting of her father standing on the front deck of his first tow boat. Daddy has worked so hard to make McKenzie Towing such a huge success. I just wish he was in better health to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Willow regained her balance and returned to the gazebo, joining Connor. The smoke was billowing out of his grill and filled the air with a wonderful fragrance of a well-cooked steak.
Connor offered to fill her glass again, but she put her hand over it, saying, “I don’t want to pass out before the main event tonight. Before I drink anymore, I’ve got to have something to eat.”
“So you’re hungry? It has been about eight hours since we ate the barbecue. I’m hungry, too.”
Willow staggered slightly and Connor laughed. “My plan is working. Drink up. I’m giving you fair warning of my plans to take advantage of you after dinner.”
“I’m really amazed at you. With a place like this, I don’t see how you escaped the snare of all these women around Vicksburg.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Connor said smugly. “Many offers came my way. But I was waiting on something much better. Something I had already experienced and enjoyed. And I’m looking at her right now.”
“Connor, you liar. You’re so full of BS. But I’ll fall for that line anyway.”
“I see your wine glass is empty again. Let me fill it for you.”
“Connor, I’m already tipsy. Are you trying to make me a falling down drunk? You’ll have to carry me to your bedroom.”
“No problem. I can take care of you. I think you need to kick back and relax.”
“If I get any more relaxed, I won’t be able to sit in this rocking chair.”
“You sit there. The steaks are ready. I’ll carve yours into small bite-sized pieces.”
After a wonderful dinner, Connor and Willow sat side by side in the porch swing. Very little was said, except for an occasional comment about a shooting star streaking its way across an otherwise clear sky. It was a warm late spring night with the temperature in the low fifties and low humidity.
“Didn’t you have a cousin or two who lived near Redwood?” Willow asked.
“Yeah, they lived about five miles just past the Redwood School. They were involved in farming activities when we were young, but saw the hand writing on the wall when small farmers were being consolidated and controlled by a larger farmer. Their total acreage was small and scattered. Due to the high price of equipment, they just couldn’t compete. Consequently, when they got a reasonable offer to sell, they wasted no time and moved away.”
“Do you know where they went?”
“They moved to Oklahoma and Kansas, and became day laborers in the cattle feed lot business.”
“When was the last time you spoke to them?”
“Oh, it has been at least twenty years or more.”
“Don’t you miss them?”
“No, not really. If you will remember when your mama and daddy ‘adopted me’, they all turned against me and accused me of being a ‘gold digger’. They felt so inferior to me and refused to have anything to do with me. You remember when Mama and Daddy were killed in that head-on collision on I-20, none of them came to the funeral. That really hurt me and as they say, ‘that split the sheet’ as far as having anymore contact with them. I dropped them from my list of people I cared about.”
“How often do you visit your parent’s grave?”
“I always go on their birthdays, and at special times like Easter and Christmas.”
“Are their graves well-tended?”
“Pretty much. You know Mama loved flowers, so I put plastic flowers in the vases on their headstones. I wish I could put fresh flowers at their graves, especially during the spring. But, the cemetery rules don’t allow that. I know that is a good rule
, but real flowers look so much better than the plastic ones.”
“Connor, I feel the pain and sadness in your heart, and wish there was something I could do to help.”
“Just by your being here and with the prospect you’re going to stay this time, brightens my life immensely.”
“That is so good to hear. You don’t know this, but being gone for so long with both of us going in different directions; I was worried you might have had a change of heart about us. I know my flitting around for the most part of thirty years, not coming home very often, could have had a destructive impact on your feelings for me. I’m so glad you haven’t changed.”
“That wine we’ve been drinking surely has had a confessional impact on us,” Connor said, laughing. “We had better call it a night before we say something that should go unspoken.”
Chapter 7
The rooster alarm clock, set by Connor the night before, woke him and Willow from a deep sleep. Connor moved slowly as the cock continued to crow.
“Please turn that rooster off. He’s killing me.”
Connor managed a slight chuckle. “Bad head dear? I told you to take something before going to sleep. That would’ve minimized the impact of too much alcohol. But I guess the wine got the best of you.”
“I’ll make a Bloody Mary. That always helps my head get better when I’ve acted so foolishly.”
“Willow, what if I fix some scrambled eggs, grits, and dry toast?”
“That would probably help settle my stomach if I can keep it down. I’ve got a full day planned with Daddy, so I need to get better soon.”
“Get up—splash some cold water on your face while I fix breakfast. I’ll have the Bloody Mary sitting on the bar in a couple of minutes. I’m also going to fix a pot of coffee.”
“I’m going to need a lot of help to get through the day,” she said, entering the kitchen. “The coffee surely smells good.”
Connor handed Willow the Bloody Mary. “Drink up. Let it hit bottom first, then sip on the black coffee.”
“This is really sweet of you, Connor. I’ll repay you later.”
